Frozen comestible products such as fish, poultry and vegetables suitable for fat-frying are commonly batter coated with a flour/starch batter and then breaded and packaged. On cooking by frying, a crisp and browned, continuous outer coating on the surface of the cooked product is obtained.
The problem with attempting to micro-wave cook such batter coated frozen comestibles is that they have a high water content and lose substantial amounts of free water in the cooking step. During fat-frying, the temperatures of cooking are sufficient to drive this water off. However, during micro-wave cooking, the cooking temperatures and time are less and the "cook-out juice" saturates a conventional breaded batter coating making it mushy and giving it the taste of flour paste.
Still micro-wave cooking requires substantially less cooking time and effort. This convenience makes the availability of frozen condiments, suitable for micro-wave cooking, of substantial importance to the ultimate consumer.
It is known to prepare coated, frozen, comestible products suitable for oven cooking, which when cooked have a crisp, browned outer surface. However, in order to obtain an appearance and texture resembling that of a deep-fried comestible product, it is necessary to subject the frozen portions to a pre-frying step prior to packaging. Specifically, frozen portions, cut from fish blocks, are first enrobed with a flour/starch batter, followed by application of a breading material. The frozen portions are then subjected to about thirty seconds deep-fat flash frying at about 390.degree. F., in a continuous fat fryer, followed by re-freezing at about -20.degree. F. for about twenty minutes, and then packaging. The pre-frying time is sufficient to at least partially cook the coating ingredients. In the absence of pre-frying, the oven preparation time would be insufficient, and the final product would have a coating which as with the micro-wave cooked product is mushy and tastes like flour paste.
A primary disadvantage with the above process for the preparation of pre-cooked frozen comestibles, suitable for oven cooking, is that the pre-frying is expensive and adds significantly to the cost of the product. In addition, even though it is an object only to partially cook the coating, some thawing and cooking of the fish itself occurs. It is estimated that this is sufficient to effect a moisture loss of about 10-12% in the fish and a corresponding economic loss to the producer of the pre-fried product.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,827 describes coating a foodstuff such as meat, fish, or vegetable with a batter comprising a blend of raw egg and milk or water with a dry mix of wheat flour, shortening, cornstarch and pregelatinized waxy-maize starch, and then rolling or otherwise coating the batter-coated foodstuff with a dry mix comprising cereal fines, pregelatinized waxy-maize starch, shortening and wheat flour. On baking, it is indicated that the final product possesses a deep fat-fried texture and appearance. No mention is made in this patent of the use of a frozen foodstuff as the meat, fish or vegetable source.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,009 describes coating a foodstuff such as meat, fish or vegetable with a batter, similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,827, and then applying to the batter a bread crumb coating composition, the bread crumbs having a critical particle size and an edible oil applied to the surface thereof. As in the '827 patent, no mention is made in this patent of using a frozen foodstuff as the meat, fish or vegetable source.
Both patents employ as the initial coating a conventional batter, and as indicated above, applicant's experience has been that, particularly in micro-wave cooking, a mushy texture and uncooked appearance results. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,009, crispness, as compared to a mushy texture, is alleged as an advantage. However, this is with conventional baking, and it is doubtful if such crispness would result from micro-wave cooking. In addition, the advantages are alleged to be attributable to the application of a heavier than conventional coat and interweaving of the bread crumb particles in the coat. Such a heavy batter coat tends to mask the flavor and texture of the fish such that a consumer experiences more batter than fish.